The man accused of the Jan. 6 murder in Kirksville completed probation in 2009 stemming from a 1995 drug conviction.

Paul R. Potter, 49, of Kirksville, is charged with first-degree murder and numerous other felonies in connection to to his alleged murder and dismemberment of Willis Edward Meredith, his neighbor in the Village 76 apartment complex.

Potter is being held on a $1 million bond in the Adair County Jail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in late February.

Court records obtained by the Daily Express show Potter was charged with a class B felony of sale of a controlled substance in June 1994. Documents state Potter, while in Sullivan County, sold more than 5 grams of marijuana to an undercover investigator from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

He pleaded guilty in January 1995 and was given five years of supervised probation with a suspended execution of sentence of five years in state prison.

Case.net records indicate Potter’s probation was “revoked” in April, 2005, when he began a new term of probation for five years.

Missouri Probation and Parole said Potter concluded that probation term in 2009.

The case was handled in circuit court at Linn County.

Asked if the case would affect ongoing proceedings, Adair County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Wilson said, “The State always considers the criminal history of the accused.”